Hi Tweets
A much belated report on the Eastside Audubon trip to Whidbey Island on
Monday, Aug 19, 2019. We started out at 0630 under cloudy skies and
temperatures in the low 60s. We made our way north with relatively slow
birding. At the P&R we had SONG SPARROW and AMERICAN CROW. On I-5 we picked
up AMERICAN CROW and CANADA GOOSE. We took the route across Fir Island and
made a nice stop at the Hayton Preserve where we saw MALLARD, NORTHERN
PINTAIL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, CALIFORNIA GULL, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, GREAT BLUE
HERON, 4 PEREGRINE FALCONS in a distant tree, SONG SPARROW, LINCOLN'S
SPARROW, AMERICAN WIGEON, HOODED MERGANSER, BALD EAGLE, RING-BILLED GULL,
CASPIAN TERN, BARN SWALLOW and KILLDEER. The skies remained overcast, but it
was high and we had good light, and no wind.
On Dodge Valley Rd. at the cow barn we saw EUROPEAN STARLING, BREWER'S
BLACKBIRD and BAND-TAILED PIGEON. As we passed Campbell Lake a COMMON RAVEN
flew over the road. We made our next stop at Rosario Beach with a bunch of
nice birds including: BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH,
DARK-EYED JUNCO, NORTHERN FLICKER, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, PIGEON
GUILLEMOT, GREAT BLUE HERON, WESTERN GULL, HEERMANN'S GULLs (lots), AMERICAN
ROBIN, BLACK OYSTERCATCHER, HARLEQUIN DUCK, PELAGIC CORMORANT, BRANDT'S
CORMORANT, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT and BEWICK'S WREN.
At Deception Pass State Park we saw more PIGEON GUILLEMOTs, AMERICAN CROW,
HEERMANN'S GULL, and BLACK TURNSTONE. From there we went around to Ala Spit
County Park - at first is looked really slow with only DOUBLE-CRESTED
CORMORANT and PIGEON GUILLEMOT. Then we added CASPIAN TERN, BARN SWALLOW,
BALD EAGLE, CALIFORNIA GULL, GREAT BLUE HERON, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH,
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, YELLOW WARBLER, CEDAR WAXWING, WILSON'S WARBLER,
SPOTTED TOWHEE and BROWN CREEPER. A much nicer stop than we initially
thought.
At Dugualla Bay there were MALLARD, NORTHERN PINTAIL, BELTED KINGFISHER,
BARN SWALLOW, CANADA GOOSE, PIED-BILLED GREBE, NORTHERN HARRIER (harassing,
and being harassed by), COMMON RAVEN, HOUSE SPARROW, TURKEY VULTURE and
CLIFF SWALLOW. On to Oak Harbor Marina (starting to get some broken
cloudiness now) with AMERICAN CROW, BELTED KINGFISHER, ROCK PIGEON, a nice
collection of BLACK TURNSTONES and at least two (maybe three) SURFBIRDS,
EUROPEAN STARLING, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE, GLACOUS-WINGED GULL, GREAT BLUE
HERON and a whole rooftop of CASPIAN TERNs.
At Bos Lake we got nice close looks at LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER (1),
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, GREATER YELLOWLEGS (many), LESSER YELLOWLEGS,
WESTERN SANDPIPER, MALLARD, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, GREAT BLUE HERON,
DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT. Across the road and looking out at the Strait of
Juan de Fuca we saw PIGEON GUILLEMOT, RED-NECKED GREBE, HEERMANN'S GULL,
COMMON LOON, RHINOCEROS AUKLET and SURF SCOTER.
At the Hastie Lake access we saw PIGEON GUILLEMOT, COMMON LOON, SURF SCOTER,
WESTERN SANDPIPER, HARLEQUIN DUCK and GLACOUS-WINGED GULL. We then proceeded
to Libby Beach for a lunch stop and while looking over the Strait we saw
KILLEDEER, BLACK TURNSTONE, HARLEQUIN DUCK, GLACOUS-WINGED GULL, GREAT BLUE
HERON and a group of RIVER OTTER (they first appeared north of the beach and
worked their way down past us giving good views).
At the ponds across from the end of Penn Cove we saw BELTED KINGFISHER,
GREAT BLUE HERON. We made a stop at Fort Casey wanting to work the woods
over, and in spite of the noise from Naval Air Force activities we did get
CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, AMERICAN CROW, BALD EAGLE and AMERICAN ROBIN. At
that point we gave up and went down to the ferry terminal. We saw
DOUBLE-CRESTED, BRANDT'S and PELAGIC CORMORANTs, GLAUCOS-WINGED GULL,
AMERICAN CROW, many HEERMANN'S GULLs, RHINOCEROUS AUKLET, BELTED KINGFISHER
and OSPREY. There were also at least 5 HARBOR PORPOISE.
Along Crockett Lake we saw AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, GREAT BLUE HERON,
GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, WESTERN GULL, CALIFORNIA GULL, CASPIAN TERN, LEAST
SANDPIPER, WESTERN SANDPIPER and SPOTTED SANDPIPER.
Along Smugglers Cove Road we saw a WILLOW FLYCATCHER. At Deer Lagoon, under
now mostly sunny skies and 74F temperatures, we saw GREAT BLUE HERON,
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, KILLDEER, NORTHERN FLICKER, EUROPEAN STARLING,
AMERICAN ROBIN, MERLIN, OSPREY, CASPIAN TERN, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, HOODED
MERGANSER, HOUSE SPARROW, VIRGINIA RAIL (heard), WESTERN GULL, CALIFORNIA
GULL, GLACOUS-WINGED GULL, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD.
As we finished up and waited for the ferry at Clinton we had a group of
BONAPARTE'S GULLs.
It was a very nice day with lots of terrific birds, excellent looks, unusual
sighting of River Otter, and good birders. We finished with 76 species.
Good Birding
Brian H. Bell
Woodinville WA
bell a s o c a t iso med ia dot com
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